Solid-state imaging device, method of producing the same, and camera

ABSTRACT

The prevent invention is to provide a solid-state imaging device having a electrode configuration applicable to a progressive scan, and able to reduce a obstruction of incident light at the periphery of a light receiving portion, a method of producing the same, a camera including the same. A first transfer electrode, a second transfer electrode, and a third transfer electrode which have a single layer transfer electrode configuration are repeatedly arranged in a vertical direction. The first transfer electrodes are connected in a horizontal direction by an inter-pixel interconnection formed in the same layer. Shunt interconnections are formed in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction above the transfer layers. The shunt interconnection connected to the second transfer interconnection is formed on the inter-pixel interconnection. The shunt interconnection connected to the third transfer electrode is formed above the transfer electrodes.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese PatentApplication No. JP 2004-269907 filed in the Japanese Patent Office onSep. 16, 2004, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to, particularly, a charge coupled device(CCD) type solid-state imaging device, a method of producing the same,and a camera including the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

There is known, as a digital still camera imaging device, a CCDsolid-state imaging device has been used well, mostly, it is aninterline transfer type (so-called as an “IT type”) CCD. Among them,there are a field integration, a frame integration and a progressivescan.

In the field integration or the frame integration, by dividing the wholepixel information into two times or more and reading out it, there is amerit, for example, that a restriction of a vertical transfer unit(vertical CCD) due to a dynamic range can be avoided. However, due to aread out operation divided into a plurality of times, there is ademerit, for example, of an outflow of a signal charge caused by heatand a difference of a dark current between fields.

In the progressive scan, since the whole pixels can be read outsimultaneously, there is a merit, for example, that an accurate opticalshatter (mostly, a mechanical shatter) is unnecessary. However, atransfer electrode is configured by a three- or more layers-stacked polysilicon electrode, so that a processing thereof is complicated and astep thereof is increased. Further, an unevenness in the verticaltransfer unit becomes obviously, so an eclipse of incident light(namely, light to be incidence to a light receiving portion is blockedoff by a shield film) easily occurs due to such unevenness. Therefore, asensitivity shading and a sensitivity deterioration at a lens openingside may be easily caused.

As the solid-state imaging device for the progressive scan, JapanesePatent No. 2,878,546 discloses a solid-state imaging device in which atransfer electrode with a single layer electrode structure is used and adriving pulse is supplied from a metal interconnection which is an upperlayer of the transfer electrode to a separated transfer electrode in thetransfer electrode.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, in the above document, the metal interconnection is also usedas the shield film and formed to cover approximately entire surface ofthe transfer electrode, so that there has been a large step differencebetween the light receiving portion and the transfer electrode. As aresult, the eclipse of the incidence light described above is not ablebe reduced.

The present invention is to provide a solid-state imaging device havingan electrode configuration applicable to the progressive scan and ableto reduce an obstruction of the incidence light at the periphery of thelight receiving portion, and a method of producing the same and a cameraincluding the same.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided asolid-state imaging device including a plurality of light receivingportions arranged in a first direction and in a second directionperpendicular to the first direction; a plurality of transfer channelsplaced between the respective light receiving portions and extending inthe second direction; a first transfer electrode, a second transferelectrode, and a third transfer electrode placed repeatedly in the sameplane on the respective transfer channels; an inter-pixelinterconnection placed in the same plane as the first transfer electrodeand connected to a plurality of the first transfer electrodes arrangedin the first direction; an second transfer electrode driveinterconnection extending in the first direction above the firsttransfer electrode and the inter-pixel interconnection and respectivelyconnected to a plurality of the second transfer electrodes arranged inthe first direction; and a third transfer electrode driveinterconnection extending in the second direction above the first,second, and third transfer electrodes and respectively connected to thethird transfer electrode arranged in the second direction.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided amethod of producing a solid-state imaging device having the steps of:injecting impurities to a substrate to form a plurality of lightreceiving portions and a plurality of transfer channels, the lightreceiving portion being arranged in a first direction and in a seconddirection perpendicular to the first direction, and the transfer channelbeing placed between the respective light receiving portions andextending in the second direction; depositing a conductive layer on thesubstrate; processing the conductive layer to form a first transferelectrode, a second transfer electrode, and a third transfer electrodewhich are repeatedly placed in the same plane on the respective transferchannels and to form an inter-pixel interconnection which connects theplurality of the first electrode arranged in the first direction;forming a second transfer electrode drive interconnection above thefirst transfer electrode and the inter-pixel interconnection, the secondtransfer drive interconnection being connected to the plurality of thesecond transfer electrodes arranged in the first direction; and forminga third transfer electrode drive interconnection above the first,second, and third transfer electrodes, the third transfer driveinterconnection being connected to the plurality of the third transferelectrodes arranged in the second direction.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided acamera having: a solid-state imaging device; an optical system makinglight focus on an imaging surface of the solid-state imaging device; anda signal processing circuit performing a predetermined signal processingto an output signal from the solid-state imaging device. The solid-stateimaging signal includes: a plurality of light receiving portionsarranged in a first direction and in a second direction perpendicular tothe first direction; a plurality of transfer channels placed between therespective light receiving portions and extending in the seconddirection; a first transfer electrode, a second transfer electrode, anda third transfer electrode placed repeatedly in the same plane on therespective transfer channels; an inter-pixel interconnection placed inthe same plane as the first transfer electrode and connected to aplurality of the first transfer electrodes arranged in the firstdirection; an second transfer electrode drive interconnection extendingin the first direction above the first transfer electrode and theinter-pixel interconnection and respectively connected to a plurality ofthe second transfer electrodes arranged in the first direction; and athird transfer electrode drive interconnection extending in the seconddirection above the first, second and third transfer electrodes andrespectively connected to the third transfer electrode arranged in thesecond direction.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it can be realizeda solid-state imaging device having an electrode configurationapplicable to the progressive scan and able to reduce an obstruction ofthe incidence light at the periphery of the light receiving portion, amethod of producing the same, and a camera including the same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These features of embodiments of the present invention will be describedin more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pixel unit of a solid-state imaging deviceaccording to the present embodiment;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view along line A –A′ of FIG. 1, and FIG.2B a cross-sectional view along line B –B′ of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A to 3H are cross-sectional views of a process for producing thesolid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a view of a configuration of a camera applied with thesolid-state imaging device according to the present embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an elementally portion of a pixel unit in asolid-state imaging device according to the present embodiment. In thepresent embodiment, the solid-state imaging device applicable to theprogressive scan and having three phases drive will be described.

Light receiving portions 1 included in a pixel are arranged in the pixelunit. A plurality of the light receiving portions 1 is arranged in ahorizontal direction and in a vertical direction. The light receivingportion 1 is made from a photo diode, generates a signal chargecorresponding to an amount of incidence light, and stores the signalcharge for a specified duration.

A transfer channel 2 is placed between two light receiving portions 1arranged in the horizontal direction H to expand in the verticaldirection V. The transfer channel 2 generates a potential distributionfor transferring the signal charge in the vertical direction V.

Three types of transfer electrodes 3 respectively supplying transferpulses with different phases ΦV1, ΦV2, and ΦV3 are arranged on thetransfer channel 2 expanding the vertical direction V. The transferelectrodes 3 are divided into a first transfer electrode 3-1 to whichthe transfer pulse ΦV1 is supplied, a second transfer electrode 3-2 towhich the transfer pulse ΦV2 is supplied, and a third transfer electrode3-3 to which the transfer pulse ΦV3 is supplied. Note that, particularlyif it is unnecessary to discriminate the first transfer electrode 3-1,the second transfer electrode 3-2, and the third transfer electrode 3-3,it may be simply referred to the transfer electrode 3.

In the present embodiment, a single layer transfer electrode structureincluding the first transfer electrode 3-1, the second transferelectrode 3-2, and the third transfer electrode 3-3 in the same plane isemployed. The transfer electrode 3 is made of, for example, polysilicon.

The third transfer electrode 3-3, the second transfer electrode 3-2, andthe first transfer electrode 3-1 are repeatedly arranged in the verticaldirection V. By the transfer electrode 3 and the transfer channel 2described above, so-called a vertical transfer unit (vertical CCD) whichis commonly placed in each of columns of the light receiving portion 1arranged in the vertical direction V is formed.

A plurality of the first transfer electrodes 3-1 arranged in thehorizontal direction H is connected by an inter-pixel interconnection3-1 a. The inter-pixel interconnection 3-1 a extends in the horizontaldirection H at an interval of the light receiving portion 1 arranged inthe vertical direction V, and is formed in the same plane as thetransfer electrode 3-1. Namely, the inter-pixel interconnection 3-1 a ismade of polysilicon integrally formed with the first transfer electrode3-1.

The second transfer electrode 3-2 is separated on the transfer channel2, namely, is a separated shape without a connection in the horizontaldirection H. The second transfer electrode 3-2 is arranged to adjoin thelight receiving portion 1.

The third transfer electrode 3-3 is separated on the transfer channel 2,namely, is a separated shape without a connection in the horizontaldirection H. The third transfer electrode 3-3 is arranged to adjoin thelight receiving portion 1.

A shunt interconnection (a second transfer electrode driveinterconnection) 4 extending in the horizontal direction H is placed onthe first transfer electrode 3-1 and the inter-pixel interconnection 3-1a via an insulation film. The shunt interconnection 4 also extends inthe vertical direction V on the respective first transfer electrodes3-1, and is connected to the second transfer electrode 3-2 at a contactportion 4 a. A single shunt interconnection 4 is connected to aplurality of the second transfer electrodes 3-2 arranged in thehorizontal direction H. A width of the shunt interconnection 4 isnarrower than that of the inter-pixel interconnection 3-1 a.

The shunt interconnection 4 is made of polysilicon, tungsten, or othermetal material. When using metal material as the shunt interconnection4, if the thickness or the width is made smaller than when usingpolysilicon, the similarly level of resistance can be obtained, so thatthere is an advantage that the step difference which occurs at theperiphery of the light receiving portion 1 can be made smaller.

A shunt interconnection (a third transfer electrode driveinterconnection) 5 extending via an insulation film in the verticaldirection V is placed as an upper layer than the shunt interconnection 4and above the transfer electrode 3 arranged in the vertical direction V.The shunt interconnection 5 is connected to the third transfer electrode3-3 at a contact portion 5 a. A single shunt interconnection 5 isconnected to a plurality of the third transfer electrodes 3-3 arrangedin the vertical direction V. A width of the shunt interconnection 5 isnarrower than the transfer electrode 3.

The shunt interconnection 5 is made of polysilicon, tungsten, or othermetal material. An advantage by using metal material as the shuntinterconnection 5 is similar to the shunt interconnection 4.

In the solid-state imaging device described above, three transferelectrodes 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 are placed for a single light receivingportion 1. Since three transfer electrodes 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 are placedfor a single light receiving portion 1, it is applicable to theprogressive scan.

The present embodiment will describe an example of the three-phase drivesolid-state imaging device. The transfer pulse ΦV1 is supplied throughthe inter-pixel interconnection 3-1 a to the entire first transferelectrodes 3-1 arranged in the horizontal direction. The transfer pulseΦV2 is supplied through the shunt interconnection 4 to the entire secondtransfer electrodes 3-2 arranged in the horizontal direction. Thetransfer pulse ΦV3 is supplied through the shunt interconnection 5 tothe entire third transfer electrodes 3-3 arranged in the verticaldirection. The transfer pulses ΦV1, ΦV2, and ΦV3 are −7 to 0 V, forexample.

A read-out pulse ΦR for transferring a signal charge stored in the lightreceiving portion 1 to the transfer channel 2 are supplied through theshunt interconnections 4 and 5 to the second transfer electrode 3-2 andthe third transfer electrode 3-3 respectively separated to adjoin thelight receiving portion 1. The read-out pulse ΦR, for example, is +12 to+15 V. Note that, the read-out pulse ΦR may be supplied to either thesecond transfer electrode 3-2 or the third transfer electrode 3-3.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view along line A –A′ of FIG. 1, and FIG.2B a cross-sectional view along line B –B′ of FIG. 1.

In the present embodiment, for example, a semiconductor substrate 10made of n-type silicon is used. In the semiconductor substrate 10, ap-type well 11 is formed. In the p-type well 11, an n-type region 12 isformed, and a p-type region 13 is formed at a surface side nearer thanthe n-type region 12. By a photo diode caused by a pn junction with then-type region 12 and the p-type well 11, the light receiving portion 1is formed. Since the p-type region 13 is formed at the surface side ofthe n-type region 12, a buried photo diode which makes the dark currentreduce is formed.

A p-type well 14 is formed to adjoin the n-type region 12, and thetransfer channel 2 made from an n-type region is formed in the p-typewell 14. A p-type channel stop portion 16 for preventing a flow of thesignal charge between the adjoining light receiving portions 1 is formedto adjoin the transfer channel 2. In an example in the drawing, aportion between the light receiving portion 1 and the transfer channel 2which is a left side of the light receiving portion 1 becomes a read-outgate portion 17. Therefore, a potential distribution is controlled bythe transfer electrode 3 (more particularly, both of the second transferelectrode 3-2 and the third transfer electrode 3-3, or either of them),and the signal charge of the light receiving portion 1 is read out tothe left side of the transfer channel 2.

On the semiconductor substrate 10 in which various semiconductor regionsare formed, the transfer electrode 3 made of polysilicon (the secondtransfer electrode 3-2 in the drawing) and the inter-pixelinterconnection 3-1 a are formed via the gate insulation film 20.

An insulation film 21, for example, made of silicon oxide is formed soas to cover the transfer electrode 3 and the inter-pixel interconnection3-1 a. A shunt interconnection 4 made of polysilicon, tungsten, or othermetal materials is formed via the insulation film 21 on the inter-pixelinterconnection 3-1 a. The shunt interconnection 4 is also formed on thesecond transfer electrode 3-2. An aperture is formed at the contactportion 4 a in the insulation film 21, and the shunt interconnection 4and the second transfer electrode 3-2 are connected at the contactportion 4 a. Note that, when using tungsten or other metal materials asthe shunt interconnection 4, the metal material formed with the shuntinterconnection 4 and the second transfer electrode 3-2 are notconnected directly at the contact portion 4 a, a barrier metal is laidbetween the shunt interconnection 4 and the second transfer electrode3-2.

An insulation film 22, for example, made of silicon oxide is formed soas to cover the shunt interconnection 4. The shunt interconnection 5made of polysilicon, tungsten, or other metal material is formed via theinsulation film 22 on the transfer electrode 3. It is omittedillustration in the drawing, an aperture is formed at a contact portion5 a (refer to FIG. 1) in the insulation film 22, and the shuntinterconnection 5 and the third transfer electrode 3-3 are connected atthe contact portion 5 a. Note that, when using tungsten or other metalmaterial as the shunt interconnection 5, the shunt interconnection 5 andthe third transfer electrode 3-3 are not connected directly at thecontact portion 5 a, and a barrier metal may be laid between them.

An insulation film 23 made of silicon oxide is formed so as to cover theshunt interconnection 5. With laying the insulation films 21, 22, and23, a shield film 6 is formed to cover the transfer electrode 3, theinter-pixel interconnection 3-1 a, and the shunt interconnections 4 and5. In the shield film 6, an aperture 6 a is formed above the lightreceiving portion 1.

It is omitted illustration in the drawing, if necessary, a flatten film,a color filter, and an on-chip lens are formed as the upper layer of thelight shield film 6.

Next, an operation of the solid-state imaging device according to thepresent embodiment will be described.

When incident light is irradiated to the light receiving portion 1, asignal charge (in the present embodiment, electron) is generatedcorresponding to the amount of the irradiated light by a photoelectricconversion, and stored for a specified duration in the n-type region 12of the light receiving portion 1.

Passing through the shunt interconnections 4 and 5, the read out pulseΦR is supplied to the second transfer electrode 3-2 and the thirdtransfer electrode 3-3, then a potential distribution in the read outgate portion 17 is controlled, and the signal charge stored in theentire light receiving portion 1 is read out to the transfer channel 2.Note that, the read out pulse ΦR may be supplied to either the secondtransfer electrode 3-2 or the third transfer electrode 3-3.

The signal charge is read out to the transfer channel 2, and then threephases transfer pulses ΦV1 to ΦV3 are supplied through the inter-pixelinterconnection 3-1 a and the shunt interconnections 4 and 5 to thetransfer electrodes 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 which are arranged in the verticaldirection. By the three phases transfer pulses ΦV1 to ΦV3, the potentialdistribution in the transfer channel 2 are controlled, and the signalcharge is transferred in the vertical direction V.

It is omitted illustration in the drawing, the signal charge istransferred in the vertical direction V, then transferred in thehorizontal direction H by the horizontal transfer unit, and sent to anoutput unit. In the output unit, the signal charge is converted to avoltage corresponding to an amount of the signal charge and output.

Note that, the solid-state imaging device having above configuration canbe performed with the frame integration. In this case, the read outpulse ΦR may be supplied passing through the shunt interconnection 4only to the second transfer electrode 3-2, and, for example, the readout pulse ΦR may be supplied to only an odd number of lines of the shuntinterconnection 4 in a first field, and the read out pulse ΦR may besupplied to only an even number of lines of the shunt interconnection 4in a second field.

Next, an effect of the solid-state imaging device according to thepresent embodiment will be described.

In the solid-state imaging device according the present embodiment, theshunt interconnections 4 and 5 having narrower widths than a width W ofthe transfer electrode are formed in the horizontal direction H and inthe vertical direction V as the upper layer of three types of thetransfer electrodes 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 with the single layer transferelectrode structure.

The shunt interconnection 4 placed in the horizontal direction H and forsupplying the transfer pulse ΦV2 to the second transfer electrode 3-2 isformed on the inter-pixel interconnection 3-1 a. Therefore, an intervalbetween the light receiving portions 1 which are arranged in thevertical direction V may be secured for a single interconnection'sworth, so a dimension of the light receiving portion 1 in the verticaldirection V can be made large. Since a dimension in the verticaldirection V can be made large, the eclipse of the incident light fromthe vertical direction V can be reduced, the eclipse is caused by theshield film 6 covering the inter-pixel interconnection 3-1 a and theshunt interconnection 4.

The shunt interconnection 5 placed in the vertical direction V and forsupplying the transfer pulse ΦV3 to the third transfer electrode 3-3 isformed on the transfer electrode 3, and a width thereof is narrower thanthe width W of the transfer electrode 3. Therefore, a sharply stepdifference is prevented from occurring in the periphery of the lightreceiving portion 1. As a result, the eclipse of the incident light fromthe horizontal direction H can be reduced due to the shield film 6covering the transfer electrode 3 and the shunt interconnection 5.

As described above, the shunt interconnection is placed in thehorizontal direction H between the pixels, and the shunt interconnection5 is placed in the vertical direction V as the upper layer of thetransfer electrode 3. So the eclipse of the incident light can bereduced and the light sensitivity of the light receiving portion 1 and adynamic range can be made large.

The separated second transfer electrode 3-2 and third transfer electrode3-3 are arranged to adjust the light receiving portion 1, so whensupplying the read out pulse ΦR to both of the second transfer electrode3-2 and the third transfer electrode 3-3, the read out width RW can bemade large. As a result, a narrow channel effect (a phenomenon that theread out width RD is made large to increase a threshold) can besuppressed and a voltage of the read out pulse ΦR can be reduced.

In a portion between the pixels, the first transfer electrode 3-1 andthe inter-pixel interconnection 3-1 a are formed at the lower layer ofthe shunt interconnections 4 and 5. Therefore, even if the read outpulse ΦR is supplied to the shunt interconnections 4 and 5, by ashielding effect of the first transfer electrode 3-1 and the inter-pixelinterconnection 3-1 a, a potential of the semiconductor substrate 10 isnot affected in the portion between the pixels. Therefore, the signalcharge is prevented from flowing to the adjoining light receivingportion 1, namely, a color blend can be prevented.

Next, a method of producing the solid-state imaging device according tothe present embodiment will be described with reference to process viewsof FIGS. 3A to 3H. A section in the process views of FIGS. 3A to 3Hcorresponds to a section of FIG. 2A.

As shown in FIG. 3A, various semiconductor regions are formed in thesemiconductor substrate 10 by ion implantation, so the p-type well 11,the n-type region 12, the p-type region 13, the n-type transfer channel2, the p-type well 14, and the channel stop portion 16 are formed. Notethat, the p-type region 13 may be formed by the ion implantation after aformation of the transfer electrode. Here, the p-type region between then-type region 12 and the transfer channel 2 which is left side in thedrawing becomes the read out gate 17.

As shown in FIG. 3B, for example, the gate insulation film 20, forexample, made of silicon oxide is formed by thermal oxidation on thesurface of the semiconductor substrate 10. Then, polysilicon isdeposited on the gate insulation film 20 by chemical vapor deposition(CVD), and processed by etching to form the transfer electrode 3 and theinter-pixel interconnection 3-1 a (in the drawing, the second transferelectrode 3-2). The above polysilicon corresponds to an embodiment ofthe conductive layer according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3C, the insulation film 21, for example, made ofsilicon oxide is formed by the thermal oxidation to cover the transferelectrode 3. Then the insulation film 21 is removed at a position to bethe contact portion 4 a to expose a part of the second transferelectrode 3-2.

As shown in FIG. 3D, a polysilicon film is deposited on the insulationfilm 21 by CVD, and processed by dry etching to form the shuntinterconnection 4. Note that, a titanium oxide or other barrier metaland tungsten or other metal layer may be deposited by a spatteringmethod, and processed by dry etching to form the shunt interconnection4. The shunt interconnection 4 is connected to the second transferelectrode 3-2 at the contact portion 4 a.

As shown in FIG. 3E, a silicon oxide film is deposited by the thermaloxidation or CVD to form the insulation film 22 to thereby cover theshunt interconnection 4. Then, the insulation film 22 is removed at aposition to be the contact portion 5 a (referred to FIG. 1) to expose apart of the third transfer electrode 3-3.

As shown in FIG. 3F, a polysilicon film may be deposited on theinsulation film 22 by CVD, and processed by a dry etching to form theshunt interconnection 5. Note that, a titanium oxide or other barriermetal and tungsten or other metal layer are deposited by a spatteringmethod, and processed by the dry etching to form the shuntinterconnection 5. The shunt interconnection 5 is connected to the thirdtransfer electrode 3-3 at the contact portion 5 a.

As shown in FIG. 3G, a silicon oxide film is deposited by the thermaloxidation or CVD to form the insulation film 23 covering the shuntinterconnection 5.

As shown in FIG. 3H, for example, a tungsten film is formed by thespattering or CVD, and processed by the dry etching to form the shieldfilm 6 which covers the transfer electrode 3, the inter-pixelinterconnection 3-1 a, and the shunt interconnections 4, 5 and has anaperture 6 a above the light receiving portion 1.

As the following steps, if necessary, a flatten film is formed above theshield film 6, a color filter is formed on the flatten film, and anon-chip lens is formed on the color filter, consequently the solid-stateimaging device is produced.

The above solid-state imaging device can be used to, for example, avideo camera, a digital steal camera, an electric endoscope camera orother camera.

FIG. 4 is a view of a configuration of a camera used with the abovesolid-state imaging device.

A camera 30 has the solid-state imaging device (CCD) 31, an opticalsystem 32, a drive circuit 33, and a signal processing circuit 34.

The optical system 32 makes imaging light from a subject (incidencelight) focus on an imaging surface of the solid-state imaging device 31.Consequently, in the respective light receiving portions 1 of thesolid-state imaging device 31, the incidence light is converted to thesignal charges corresponding to the amount of the incidence light. Andin the light receiving portion 1, the signal charge is stored for apredetermined duration.

The drive circuit 33 supplies above three phases transfer pulse ΦV1,ΦV2, and ΦV3, the read out pulse ΦR, or various drive signals to thesolid-state imaging device 31. Consequently, a read out, a verticaltransfer, a horizontal transfer of the signal charge, or other variousoperation of the solid-state imaging device is performed. And by thisoperation, an analog imaging signal is output from an output unit of thesolid-state imaging device 31.

The signal processing circuit 34 performs a noise elimination, aconversion to a digital signal, or various signal processing for theanalog imaging signal output from the solid-state imaging device 31.After the signal processing by the signal processing circuit 34, theoutput signal is stored in a memory or other storage media.

In this way, by applying the solid-state imaging device described aboveto the camera 30 such as a video camera or a digital steal camera, itcan be realized with the camera designing an improvement of thesensitivity and a dynamic range.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

The solid-state imaging device according to the present invention can beapplied to an interline transfer system solid-state imaging device and aframe interline transfer system solid-state imaging device. Aconfiguration upper than the light shield film 6 can be variousmodification.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors in so far as they arewithin scope of the appeared claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. A solid-state imaging device comprising: a plurality of lightreceiving portions arranged in a first direction and in a seconddirection perpendicular to said first direction; a plurality of transferchannels placed between said respective light receiving portions andextending in said second direction; a first transfer electrode, a secondtransfer electrode, and a third transfer electrode placed repeatedly inthe same plane on said respective transfer channels; an inter-pixelinterconnection placed in the same plane as said first transferelectrode and connected to a plurality of said first transfer electrodesarranged in said first direction; an second transfer electrode driveinterconnection extending in said first direction above said firsttransfer electrode and said inter-pixel interconnection, andrespectively connected to a plurality of said second transfer electrodesarranged in said first direction; and a third transfer electrode driveinterconnection extending in said second direction above said first,second and third transfer electrodes and respectively connected to saidthird transfer electrode arranged in said second direction.
 2. Asolid-state imaging device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said secondand third transfer electrodes are arranged to adjoin said lightreceiving portion.
 3. A solid-state imaging device as set forth in claim1, further comprising a shield film for exposing said respective lightreceiving portions above said third transfer electrode driveinterconnection.
 4. A solid-state imaging device as set forth in claim1, wherein said second transfer electrode drive interconnection is madeof polysilicon or metal material.
 5. A solid-state imaging device as setforth in claim 1, wherein said third transfer electrode driveinterconnection is made of polysilicon or metal material.
 6. Asolid-state imaging device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said secondtransfer electrode drive interconnections are respectively separated insaid first direction.
 7. A solid-state imaging device as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said third transfer electrode drive interconnectionsare respectively separated in said first direction.
 8. A solid-stateimaging device as set forth in claim 1, wherein a width of said secondtransfer electrode drive interconnection is narrower than a width ofsaid inter-pixel interconnection.
 9. A solid-state imaging device as setforth in claim 1, wherein a width of said third transfer electrode driveinterconnection is narrower than a width of said first transferelectrode.
 10. A camera comprising: a solid-state imaging device; anoptical system making light focus on an imaging surface of solid-stateimaging device; and a signal processing circuit performing apredetermined signal processing to an output signal from saidsolid-state imaging circuit device, wherein said solid-sate imagingsignal includes a plurality of light receiving portions arranged in afirst direction and in a second direction perpendicular to said firstdirection; a plurality of transfer channels placed between saidrespective light receiving portions and extending in said seconddirection; a first transfer electrode, a second transfer electrode, anda third transfer electrode placed repeatedly in the same plane on saidrespective transfer channels; an inter-pixel interconnection placed inthe same plane as said first transfer electrode and connected to aplurality of said first transfer electrodes arranged in said firstdirection; an second transfer electrode drive interconnection extendingin said first direction above said first transfer electrode and saidinter-pixel interconnection and respectively connected to a plurality ofsaid second transfer electrodes arranged in said first direction; and athird transfer electrode drive interconnection extending in said seconddirection above said first, second and third transfer electrodes andrespectively connected to said third transfer electrode arranged in saidsecond direction.